Abstract. Abdullah UH, Sufardi S, Syafruddin S, Arabia T. 2022. Soil organic carbon of grassland and bush forest on dryland in Aceh Besar District, Indonesia. Biodiversitas 23: 2594-2600. Soil organic carbon (SOC) is one of the important components that can improve soil conditions and maintain agriculture sustainability. This study was conducted to determine the potential of soil organic carbon in grassland and bush forest in Aceh Besar District. We used purposive random sampling by taking soil samples at various depths with five samples for each land type. The parameters of soil bulk density, % carbon soil, the potential of carbon and carbon stock were analyzed. Soil organic carbon (SOC) analysis followed the Walkley and Black method using analytical guidelines from the Indonesian Soil Research Institute. The results showed that land type and soil depth affected bulk density, % carbon soil, the potential of carbon and carbon stock. Land type affected soil organic carbon in which grasslands had a higher soil carbon than bush forests. In total, total soil carbon stock in the bush forest of Aceh Besar District was higher than that in grassland due to the much larger extent of bush forest in the district. Land use management efforts to improve soil SOC need to be carried out and in collaboration with various parties. Thus, it is necessary to maintain the availability of soil carbon stock for sustainable land management, including agriculture.

This study aims to determine the potential of soil carbon on dry land in Aceh Besar regency. This study uses a descriptive method based on field results and surveys and laboratory analysis. Soil sampling at various depths was carried out for carbon and bulk density analysis. Composite soil samples were taken at a depth of 0-5, >5-10, >10-20, >20-30, >30-70, and >70-100 cm. The type of land use is bush covering an area of ??96,962.2 ha, moor 313.03 ha, rainfed rice fields 4,478.67 ha and mixed gardens 15,052.09 ha. The highest percentage of soil carbon is in the mixed garden land utility type (3.40%) compared to other types of utility. the highest carbon potential is found in the bush land utility type (137.68 tons/ha) compared to other types of utility.  The highest soil carbon stock is in the type of land use of bush compared to other types of land utility. This is because the bush land utility type has soil carbon potential and a large area compared to other land utility types.